clearwater150
Member
- Messages
- 75
One observation and comment I made as I commented on the updated State Elk Management Plan was about tag fairness. As I look at the elk (and deer) trophy units, there are far more "any weapon" opportunities/tags issued than those specifically restricted to primitive weapons.
I know,I know...an archer or a muzzy mongrel can apply and draw one of these "any weapon" tags and hunt with their archery equipment....but.....I believe we would all benefit from some fine tuning here to get everyone on an equal and fair basis while preserving opportunity and increasing bull elk quality.
For example, I could have easily tagged out every year I have archery hunted (45+ yrs now) if I had had a rifle in my hands instead of archery equipment. The same could be said for every muzzy unit I have hunted. Instead, my success is somewhere south of 30 percent...some of that is my doing by being picky, but none-the-less...30% vs 100% is about right.
So...for our trophy units, I asked if we truly know the breakdown of primitive applicants vs modern firearm applicants. No one knows, of course, except that the vast majority of animals harvested in our trophy units are harvested with modern firearms. Then there is the occasional unit, like Unit 18 where both archery permits and rifle permits are issued for separate hunts. Far more rifle permits are issued. Or Unit 14, where there are no A tags available. So, I called the State IDFG office and asked what the breakdown was between archers and rifle hunters in the state. The answer I got was that they are very nearly equal....about 50/50.
So...I made a comment that for the revised Elk Plan, the IDFG should fairly split hunter opportunity in our trophy elk and Deer areas between modern firearm and primitive weapon based on true hunter demographics in the State.
Each demographic should get a fair and and equal shot at tags in our trophy areas (The hunts would be separated in time and tag holder would be restricted to using hunting equipment commensurate with their tag type - modern, archery, Muzzy). I am NOT advocating increasing tag numbers to compensate for reduced harvest expected to result from primitive weapons use.
If this were implemented, I would expect hunting quality to improve for everyone over time. Fewer bulls and bucks would be harvested by primitive weapons meaning the male age class would creep up as well as overall herd health as more mature males vied for breeding rights. All of us would come out winners.
I know,I know...an archer or a muzzy mongrel can apply and draw one of these "any weapon" tags and hunt with their archery equipment....but.....I believe we would all benefit from some fine tuning here to get everyone on an equal and fair basis while preserving opportunity and increasing bull elk quality.
For example, I could have easily tagged out every year I have archery hunted (45+ yrs now) if I had had a rifle in my hands instead of archery equipment. The same could be said for every muzzy unit I have hunted. Instead, my success is somewhere south of 30 percent...some of that is my doing by being picky, but none-the-less...30% vs 100% is about right.
So...for our trophy units, I asked if we truly know the breakdown of primitive applicants vs modern firearm applicants. No one knows, of course, except that the vast majority of animals harvested in our trophy units are harvested with modern firearms. Then there is the occasional unit, like Unit 18 where both archery permits and rifle permits are issued for separate hunts. Far more rifle permits are issued. Or Unit 14, where there are no A tags available. So, I called the State IDFG office and asked what the breakdown was between archers and rifle hunters in the state. The answer I got was that they are very nearly equal....about 50/50.
So...I made a comment that for the revised Elk Plan, the IDFG should fairly split hunter opportunity in our trophy elk and Deer areas between modern firearm and primitive weapon based on true hunter demographics in the State.
Each demographic should get a fair and and equal shot at tags in our trophy areas (The hunts would be separated in time and tag holder would be restricted to using hunting equipment commensurate with their tag type - modern, archery, Muzzy). I am NOT advocating increasing tag numbers to compensate for reduced harvest expected to result from primitive weapons use.
If this were implemented, I would expect hunting quality to improve for everyone over time. Fewer bulls and bucks would be harvested by primitive weapons meaning the male age class would creep up as well as overall herd health as more mature males vied for breeding rights. All of us would come out winners.
I have had a bow in the closet since about 85. I have nevr really considered myself an Archery hunter. But if the best units draw to both Rifle and Archery and the odds of drawing the Archery tag is better you would know which hat my name would be in.
